U.S. Pat. No. 6,757,606 discloses a method for controlling the operation of an internal combustion engine that includes the storing of two or more sets of operational relationships which are determined and preselected by calibrating the engine to achieve predetermined characteristics under predetermined operating conditions. The plurality of sets of operational relationships are then stored in a memory device of a microprocessor and later selected in response to a manually entered parameter. The chosen set of operational relationships is selected as a function of the selectable parameter entered by the operator of the marine vessel and the operation of the internal combustion engine is controlled according to that chosen set of operational parameters. This allows two identical internal combustion engines to be operated in different manners to suit the needs of particular applications of the two internal combustion engines.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,758,198 discloses a method for determining the proper fueling of an internal combustion engine when nitrous oxide is being injected into the air intake of the engine, including determining an equivalent air per cycle (APCequiv) by calculating the effect of both the air and the nitrous oxide on the oxygen content of the gas stream flowing into the cylinders of the engine. After calculating the equivalent air per cylinder magnitude, the fuel per cylinder (FPC) is calculated as a function of the stoichiometric air fuel ratio and an equivalence ratio that modifies the stoichiometric air/fuel ratio.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,465 discloses an electrical network associated with a throttle-control potentiometer whereby a standard commercially available linear potentiometer having an given angle of electrical-resistance variation may be employed, over an entire lesser angle range of throttle rotation, to provide an output voltage which, for an initial fraction of throttle displacement, is a predetermined substantially linear variation of a given input voltage, and which, for the remaining fraction of throttle displacement, remains substantially constant at the level of the upper end of the linearly varying fraction. A feature of the invention is that the slope and extent of linear variation are selectable, without modification of the linear potentiometer.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,714 discloses a method for calibrating an electronic control unit for an internal combustion engine. The electronic control unit may have multiple channels with each channel being adapted to provide an input drive signal to a fuel delivery apparatus. A first channel is selected for calibration. A reference signal of desired and known parameters is also defined. The reference signal is defined such that it is indicative of the cyclical performance of a fuel delivery apparatus such as a fuel injection device. A command signal is generated and passed through the circuitry of the selected channel. The channel circuitry generates a drive signal in response to the command signal. A desired parameter of the drive signal is measured for comparison with the known parameter of the reference signal. If necessary, the command signal is then adjusted so as to produce a modified drive signal which has a parameter with reduced variation from the known reference parameter.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,682,516 discloses in one example, a hybrid marine propulsion system that includes a marine propulsor that propels a marine vessel; an internal combustion engine that selectively powers the marine propulsor; an electric motor that selectively powers the marine propulsor; a controller that controls operation of the internal combustion engine and the electric motor according to a plurality of modes including an engine mode wherein the engine alone powers the marine propulsor and a boost mode wherein the engine and the electric motor together power the marine propulsor; and a user input device that inputs a user-initiated command to the controller to thereby change control from the engine mode to the boost mode. Upon input of the user-initiated command, the controller can maintain an existing output of the internal combustion engine such that the power provided by the electric motor is added to the power already being provided by the internal combustion engine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,046 discloses in a low pressure continuous flow fuel injection system for an internal combustion engine, an electric fuel pump (18) is energized with a variable duty cycle to vary the pumped volume output of the pump according to engine fuel requirements. The duty cycle is varied to energize the pump to pump substantially only the amount of fuel required by the engine, such that at idle or low engine speed, the pump is energized a lower percentage of the time than at high engine speed. Fuel flow through the fuel injector (12) is continuous, but energization of the pump is not, such that the pump is not pumping at full capacity when unneeded. An electric idle air control valve (54) is also energized with a variable duty cycle to vary the amount of bypass idle air supplied to the intake manifold (10).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,027 discloses a marine propulsion system having a conduit (14) connected between a water cooled internal combustion engine (4) and a remote fuel tank (12). The conduit has a first passage (16) supplying fuel from the tank to the engine, a second passage (18) supplying cooling water from the engine towards the tank, and a third passage (22) returning water from the second passage back to the engine. The passages are in heat transfer relation to the conduit.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,923,165 discloses a fuel system with a fuel distribution member that has a plurality of passages formed within its unitary structure to allow a water separating fuel filter and a pressure regulator to be attached directly to the fuel distribution member without the need of conduits and hoses connected therebetween. Fuel is received from a mechanical fuel pump and directed through the water separating fuel filter to a fuel manifold that includes first and second fuel rails. The fuel is cooled and pumped through a high pressure fuel filter as it flows to the fuel manifold. The pressure regulator has a pressure relief conduit that returns fuel to the fuel filter for recirculation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,891 discloses a device for supplying an alternate gas fuel to a gas-burning apparatus such that the gas-burning apparatus will receive and burn the alternate gas fuel, the gas-burning apparatus being of a type intended to burn a gas fuel which is different from the alternate fuel and is supplied at a pressure substantially different from that of the alternate fuel. The inventive device comprises: an inlet coupling attachable to a discharge fitting provided on the alternate fuel container and an outlet coupling downstream of the inlet coupling and attachable to an inlet fitting provided on the gas-burning apparatus. When the pressure of the alternate gas fuel is significantly greater than that of the intended fuel, the inventive device preferably also includes a restricting element for restricting flow of the alternate fuel through the device from the inlet coupling to the outlet coupling.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,527 discloses a timing circuit for stabilizing idling of an internal combustion engine, particularly marine racing applications where idle speed must be reduced to enable gear engagement, notwithstanding the use of a racing cam otherwise requiring higher idling speed. Delay means (8) provides a radical reduction in spark timing along a negative slope (16) relative to a baseline curve (6) up to a predetermined speed such as 900 rpm at which there is maximum relative timing delay (18). As speed increases in this range, there is more retard because of the negative slope, which further retarded timing slows engine speed, hence providing self-stabilization. As engine speed decreases in such range, there is less retard, and the advanced timing increases engine speed, again providing self-stabilization. At engine speed increases above the predetermined speed such as 900 rpm, there is a rapid advance in timing along a steeper positive slope (20) to merge with the baseline curve (6). Cranking and warm-up control circuitry (12) and acceleration detection circuitry (14) are also provided for eliminating or reducing the relative timing delay under conditions where maximum spark advance is desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,739,742 discloses using an intake-manifold vacuum and engine speed to produce an electrical output signal that reflects throttle position. Since the device has no mechanical tie to the throttle, there is none of the hysteresis or mechanical wear that are characteristic of conventional throttle-position sensors. The device comprises a tachometer circuit which is modulated by the signal from a differential-pressure transducer, connected to track the instantaneous pressure drop across the engine throttle. The tachometer output controls the duty cycle of a pulse generator which, in turn, drives an output transistor; a reference potential is applied across the load resistor and emitter of this output transistor, and the output signal is obtained as a d-c control signal, upon filtering the signal from the collector of the output transducer. The transfer function of the device yields maximum output when there is little or no intake vacuum, e.g., at sustained high speed, and minimum output is obtained from minimum speed and maximum vacuum.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,626 discloses a feedback fuel metering control system for an internal combustion engine and eliminates the need for high pressure fuel injectors, a high pressure fuel pump and a constant fuel pressure regulator. The system senses the amount of combustion air supplied to the engine, senses fuel flow velocity, and controls the amount of fuel supplied according to the amount of combustion air the fuel flow velocity.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,704,643 discloses a calibration procedure involving the steps of manually placing a throttle handle in five preselected positions that correspond with mechanical detents of the throttle control mechanism. At each of the five positions, one or more position indicating signals are received by a microprocessor of a controller and stored for future use. The five positions comprise wide open throttle in forward gear, wide open throttle in reverse gear, the shift position between neutral and forward gear, the shift position between neutral and reverse gear, and the mid-point of the neutral gear selection range. The present invention then continuously monitors signals provided by a sensor of the throttle control mechanism and mathematically determines the precise position of the throttle handle as a function of the stored position indicating signals. In one embodiment, each position indicating signal comprises three redundant signal magnitudes.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,131,412 discloses a method for calibrating a system for controlling thrust and steering of a drive arrangement in a watercraft that includes an operating device adapted for indicating a requested direction of travel of the watercraft, the operating device being connected to a control unit for providing corresponding thrust and steering commands to the drive arrangement. The method includes receiving an activation command in the control unit, for beginning the calibration, detecting any movements of the operating device, storing values corresponding to the movements in the control unit together with corresponding thrust and steering values, and repeating the detecting step and the storing step until a termination command is received in the control unit, thereby using the stored values in subsequent operation of the operating device for indicating the direction of travel of the watercraft. An arrangement for calibrating a system for controlling thrust and steering of a drive arrangement in a watercraft is also provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,387 discloses a detonation control system for a fuel injected, spark ignition two-cycle engine utilizing a linear series of engine knock signals and a programmable microprocessor to provide a non-linear series of stepped increases in the fuel injection pulse width to the engine effective to substantially reduce or eliminate engine knock. If desired or necessary, the system may also be utilized to provide a non-linear series of stepped increases in spark ignition retard to further reduce or eliminate engine knock. The non-linear stepped increases in the control parameters have been found to effectively control detonation without adversely affecting engine performance and efficiency.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,932,056 discloses a control method for controlling an internal combustion engine that selects a knock threshold magnitude and compares it to individual knock event magnitudes. The difference between these two values is calculated and limited to be within a predetermined range of values. This limitation selects either an event based control method, a proportional control method, or a control method with characteristics of both techniques. A gain is selected as a function of the algebraic sign of the limited or scaled value and the gain is multiplied by the calculated difference. The result is added to a cumulative value of previously calculated differences multiplied by associated gains. The cumulative value is used as a threshold that activates a plurality of control steps which can include ignition timing changes, fueling changes, or air intake magnitude changes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,556,077 discloses a valve mechanism for a dual tank fuel supply system that includes a housing (304) communicated to the return circuit (118, 218) and supply circuit (116, 216). The valve mechanism is responsive to pressure differentials between branches (170, 172 and 270, 272) of the supply circuit (216) to switch communication between branches (178, 180, 278, 280) of the return circuit (118, 218) accordingly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,777,913 discloses an auxiliary fuel supply system for a two cycle internal combustion engine (302). A first fuel line (350) supplies fuel from the fuel pump (338) to a solenoid (352) which is continuously cyclable between ON and OFF states during running of the engine, including high speed operation where detonation may occur. Fuel then flows through a second fuel line (354) to a restriction orifice metering housing (356), and then to a plurality of third branch fuel lines (358, 384, 386, 388, 390 and 392) for delivery to respective cylinders. The restriction orifices provide a pressure drop from the second fuel line to the plurality of third fuel lines, to provide lower fuel pressure in the third fuel lines, to reduce the chance of leakage at the intake manifold (326), and also to reduce fuel pressure fluctuations in the third fuel lines otherwise due to cycling of the solenoid. Metering housing structure is disclosed. The solenoid is controlled by a variable duty cycle oscillator (408), which in turn is controlled by a fuel enrichment signal (84) output by an electronic control which is responsive to engine knock and/or temperature. Control circuitry is disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,427 discloses a modular fuel tank system for use on aircraft and the like including a plurality of nestable shell sections which, when assembled in proper edgewise orientation, form a shell for the fuel tank. A joint assembly secures the shell sections in assembled condition and extends along mating edges of adjacent shell sections. All of the components of a plurality of fuel tanks are housed in a single container for shipping and handling purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,490 discloses an outboard motor auxiliary fuel tank/fuel pump assembly that includes an auxiliary fuel tank disposed in an engine compartment and a fuel pump joined to one side of the auxiliary fuel tank for supplying fuel stored within the auxiliary fuel tank to fuel injection valves of an engine. A float of a float valve provided within the auxiliary fuel tank is supported in the auxiliary fuel tank via a pivot shaft that is parallel to a tilt shaft of an outboard motor. First and second mounting bosses on which the fuel pump can be mounted are formed on the right side face and the front end face of the auxiliary fuel tank.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,549 discloses a sensor signal from a sensor which measures vibration of an internal combustion engine. The signal is filtered by a filter to provide characteristic frequency components for a normal combustion. When the filter signal remains below a reference value, a fault signal is output to indicate a faulty combustion. The filter may be switchable band-pass filters whose output signals are measured for knocking of the motor or for normal combustion. A programmed control unit evaluates the output signals from the filter within a characteristic time segment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,780 discloses a boat trim control system that includes a pair of trim tabs pivotally mounted to the stern of a boat hull, and an engine responsive to application of electrical ignition power for powering the boat through the water. A pair of fluid actuators extend between the hull and the respective trim tabs for selectively and adjustably moving the tabs between fully extended and fully retracted positions. A fluid drive is responsive to a boat operator for selectively adjusting positions of the trim tabs independently of each other to maintain a desired attitude of the boat hull. Electronic control circuitry is responsive to removal of ignition power from the engine for operating the fluid drive and energizing the actuators for a predetermined time duration so as to move boat trim tabs to the fully retracted positions upon removal of ignition power from the engine.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,188,581 discloses a marine drive and a marine vessel and drive combination that has a trim tab with a forward end pivotally mounted to a marine propulsion device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,346 discloses an internal combustion engine comprising a crankcase, a cylinder extending from the crankcase and having an inlet port, a piston located in the cylinder, a transfer passage located between the crankcase and the cylinder inlet port, a fuel pump adapted to communicate with a source of fuel for normal operation, a carburetor having an air induction passage communicating with the crankcase and including a venturi, which carburetor also includes a float bowl communicating with the fuel pump and a high speed nozzle communicating between the float bowl and the venturi, a low speed fuel nozzle communicating with the transfer passage adjacent the inlet port, and a fuel line communicating between the float bowl and the low speed nozzle and including therein check valve means preventing flow from the transfer passage to the float bowl and permitting flow from the float bowl to the transfer passage, which fuel line also includes fuel flow metering means.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,983,932 discloses a dual tank fuel system having primary and secondary fuel tanks, with the primary tank including a filler pipe to receive fuel and a discharge line to deliver fuel to an engine, and with a balance pipe interconnecting the primary tank and the secondary tank. The balance pipe opens close to the bottom of each tank to direct fuel from the primary tank to the secondary tank as the primary tank is filled, and to direct fuel from the secondary tank to the primary tank as fuel is discharged from the primary tank through the discharge line. A vent line has branches connected to each tank to direct fuel vapor from the tanks as the tanks are filled, and to admit air to the tanks as fuel is delivered to the engine.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,459 discloses a standard diesel injection system and a mechanical direct-gas injection system that are selectively operable, in combination with a continuous pilot injection system, to provide a combustion system that is capable of operating in either a conventional diesel mode or a dual-fuel mode. Operation between convention diesel or dual-fuel combustion modes is mechanically controlled by a two-position, four-way control valve. The mechanical direct-gas injection system is actuated by pulsed diesel fuel directed to the actuation chamber of a gas injector by the same injection pump used to provide diesel fuel to the combustion chamber during conventional diesel operation.